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Saturday, January 30, 2016

Yesterday marked the official launch of JD Sports in Sunway Pyramid not just in Malaysia but for the whole of Asia as well.

If you're looking for new fashionable kicks, then this is the place to go.

Breaking away from what is expected of a sports apparel store launch, guests, which included local media, bloggers and fashion enthusiasts were entertained by a DJ, street style dance performance cum fashion show highlighting the sporting fashion wear carried by the British retailer and its partnering brands.

Friday, January 29, 2016

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, no doubt the kitchen will be bustling with activities in preparation for the celebrations. Cooking, washing, serving and hosting a CNY open house can be exhausting. So why not look for little kitchen helpers to make cooking all the more easier for you?

With Philips’ kitchen appliances, you can save your energy on cooking and spare it for a mahjong session or just simply spend more quality time with your loved ones.

Using the Philips Noodle Maker, here's a recipe for the well-loved Dan Dan Noodle.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

When I got the announcement that Viper Challenge was heading to Sentosa Singapore, I was like 'hell yeah! Sign me up!' mainly because I've never been to Sentosa island. So my team and I signed up and come 23 Jan we all headed South.

I stayed at Costa Sands resort, a budget hotel about a ten minutes walk to the race village and start line on Palawan Beach. On race day, we were all (amazingly) on time and rearing to go in the first wave. After a 15 minutes delay, we were off.

Running along the beach was a different experience for many of us who have never done an obstacle race on the beach. For one thing, it was really scenic. Sentosa island really had the perfect setting for a race like this. The cloudy overcast with a cool breeze from the pristine (freaking clean) sea was perfect for a run on the beach.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

In about a month, I will be in Kyoto, Japan, pounding away at the pavement for 42km. Am I ready? Honestly I have no idea how can one be ready for a marathon. There will be always be the 'what if's, 'I should have's and 'could have'.

But throughout my preparation for the race, I realised one thing. I never regretted any of my runs - long, short, fast slow runs. I never said 'I regretted pulling on my shoes and running that 5km." Heck I dare say...I might even be starting to enjoy the run.

Friday, January 22, 2016

A 22km run on a Sunday morning showed me how the heat (internal and external) can severely affect my training performance. I started out at 7am and ended close to 10am with a hilly route as the finisher. Bad move because with the long slopes, my rising body temp plus the blazing sun beating down on me, my pace was badly affected.

Which is why Under Armour's CoolSwitch technology proves to be just the thing we need to keep cool when things heats up. An unprecedented edge to the fitness world, Under Armour’s CoolSwitch technology is unveiled in the new Spring/Summer 2016 Collection, hitting stores in mid-February.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

A new Thai cafe has opened up in Seapark within the vicinity of MyBurgerlab, the Maybank nasi lemak and Shell station there and it is called Boran cafe. Strangely enough, this is the only Thai spot in this area with the closest being Thai Camp and Go Thai, a 5 minutes drive away.

Anyway, a quick visit during lunch on a weekday found a near packed cafe that was clean, neat and with walls decorated with old signage. Quite cool.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Looking at my cats, all five of them, I realised one thing. Feeding them is hella tricky due to their different ages, diet requirements and sizes. Especially the fat ones. They are the ones in need of diet control so to cater to all their noms needs, I mix feed them.

Mix feeding is basically mixed the cat's daily diet with wet food and dry food. According to WHISKAS Malaysia, about 71% of cat owners in Malaysia often opt for dry cat food while 28% of owners prefer wet food for their cat.

While some cat owners swear by wet food and others prefer dry food, research from The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition suggests that both types have their plus points . Research shows that feeding your cat both dry and wet food will allow them to benefit from the best of both practices. And here's why:

Saturday, January 16, 2016

In just 6 hours of registration opening, all 10,000 slots of the Nike We Run KL 2016 were snatched up and sold out like Airasia Free seats. Registration supposedly opened at 11am with several gungho runners already attempting the signup at 12 midnight on 16 Jan.

At 1050am, the website opened for people to sign in with their Nike id. Those who didn't haven't one had to set it up and by 11am, the registration for the run opened up. It quickly became the fastest selling race in Malaysian history outside of Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon. Successful participants are greeted with this joyful page and a confirmation email sitting in their emails like a letter from Hogwarts.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Nike is set to elevate the running experience for Malaysian runners with We Run KL 21K 2016, scheduled to take place on April 10th, 2016 in the heart of the capital city.

“Nike believes in providing runners with everything they need to achieve their personal goals and reach new levels as an athlete in their own right. Through the variety of services available at retail and on digital platforms, runners will be guided, encouraged, motivated and inspired in preparation for the 21km race. They will work towards becoming a better runner each day and prove it to themselves on April 10th at We Run KL 21K,” commented Angelene Chong, Nike Malaysia Country Marketing Manager.

To date, I've hit 22km for my training with my mum on the first Sunday of the year. The longest pure running I've ever done for the sole purpose of training. I felt fine for the first 13km along the flat roads of Kuala Lumpur, having taken advantaged of the KL Car Free Day. We stopped every 5-7km for drinks and then when car-free session ended, we rerouted to the neighboring area to continue. It wasn't easy especially at the last 9km when my mum and I decided to tackle the Bukit Tunku route as the finishing distance under the blazing hot sun at 9am.

That probably wasn't a wise decision but then again, the alternative was running in the wee hours of the morning to beat the heat and that wasn't safe. With so many cases of snatch thief, kidnapping and assault happening, our roads are no longer safe to run on. Especially for ladies regardless even if we're in groups or not. So we picked the less of two evils and braved the sun.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Kiwi fruit, Lord of the Rings, Kiwi bird, Mouri, Kiwi as in the people and now...AirAsia X.

The obvious answer to where I am heading with this is of course, New Zealand.

AirAsia X today launched its new daily route to Auckland, New Zealand via Gold Coast, Australia. Held in the vibrant and naturally-lighted up Glasshouse at Seputeh, the new route was launched by New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia John Subritzky, AirAsia X Group chief executive officer (CEO) Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, and AirAsia X Bhd CEO Benyamin Ismail.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Le Bread and its now famous salted egg yolk croissant was introduced to me by a colleague long before a certain popular blogger shone the spotlight on it. I ate it, I liked it, I forgot about it the very next day. To me, it was just salted egg yolk custard delivered in a croissant. Dim Sum restaurants have the steamed pau version and yet I don't see everyone flocking everyday to a Dim Sum restaurant just for that. Yes, I am looking at you, people who have nothing to do but stalk the bakery for two- three days in a row for salted egg croissant.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

First Spartan Race training session of the year at Crossfit Pahlawan, Citta Mall and it was a killer. The training session was organised by Spartan Race and Crossfit and was held in two sessions in the afternoon of 9 January 2016.

I love working out at Crossfit Pahlawan mainly because it comes equipped with a section for rope-climb practice. It was the ideal location to prepare for an obstacle race like Spartan or Viper. Specifically for the Spartan Stadium series or for Viper Arena. When we were preparing for our Trifecta attempt last year, my team used Crossfit Pahlawan for our training sessions. Check out the madness in the video courtesy of Hashida Lee below.

Follow the United Spartans of Malaysia on Facebook here for more training sessions and OCR updates.

Shang Palace at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur is offering seven varieties of Yee Sang to usher in the Year of the Monkey – Korean snow pear, crispy fish skin and jellyfish flower, salmon fish, Japanese tuna, sliced abalone, Canadian lobster and geoduck clam – at lunch or dinner with friends, colleagues and family for prosperity, good fortune and abundance.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

After 2015's successful race in Putrajaya, Men's Health Women's Health (MHWH) Night Run by AIA Vitality is back and is taking off in three different cities across Malaysia from North all the way to South.

In addition to Putrajaya, the MHWH Night Run by AIA Vitality will also take place in Penang and Johor where anticipated number of 33,000 runners can enjoy the scenery of three of Malaysia's most exciting and liveliest cities. Previously the race only offered a 5km fun run category and a 12km competitive category. This year, runners can challenge themselves with the new 21km category for both open and veteran age groups. The Entry fees are RM78, RM88 and RM98 respectively for these distances regardless of locations.

Under Armour ended the year with a bang, with the Under Armour SkyWarrior Rainforest Challenge – a fitness challenge like no other. The Challenge marked the finale of the ‘Earn Your Armour Challenge’, a series of free bi-weekly workout sessions organised by Under Armour and had gained widespread popularity with the Malaysian public in 2015.

As part of the Challenge, Under Armour’s gym partners sent in teams to battle each other and overcome challenging obstacles, to earn the title of the ultimate fitness warrior! A whopping 120 participants from all across Malaysia turned up last Sunday at SkyWarrior Putrajaya, all geared-up to face the challenging obstacles head-on.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

This entry will be mostly a photo entry because I feel that the pictures best describe how amazing Tokyo was for me. I revisited Akihabara and wandered the bustling Asakusa once more for gifts and treats and along the way, rekindled my affection for this beautiful country and its people.

My guided tour through Akihabara the previous day gave me a good bearing of my surroundings and I retraced my steps to revisit the stores for last minute shopping. My only regret was not dedicating at least two days solely to this area. Perhaps next time.

Monday, January 4, 2016

This Valentine's Day, instead of doing the conventional dinner and movie date, why not slip on your running kicks and run hand-in-hand along the Glass Slipper Trail at Kepong Metropolitan Park!

It's a perfectly healthy and romantic way to spend time together in an all-natural setting without the hassle of having to plan much. No, seriously. You just need to sign up, pay and just turn up with your partner.

Saturday, January 2, 2016

I kicked off the first day of 2016 with a 9km run starting and ending at Padang Merbok before joining up with the Kuala Lumpur New Year 2016 run for a 10km (it was actually 11.2km) race around the city center. You see, I was training for my first ever marathon, the Kyoto Marathon set to take place on 21 February.

Why I picked a marathon with a 6 hours cut off time, I have no idea.
Why I picked a marathon with cutoff points, I have no idea.
Why I picked a marathon set in winter, I too have no idea.
But I do know that I love Japan and running my first marathon in Japan is the dream.

By a stroke of beginner's luck, I won the lottery for the Kyoto draw. Not by a stroke of beginner's luck, my mum won the lottery too. I saw it as an encouraging sign from the Powers That Be. Then I recalled I have never ran further than 21km in my life. I also remembered that running is not my forte. I would sooner swim through an ice-cold river and climb up a rope than run. Running a marathon was going to be my toughest challenge both physically and mentally. Oh boy...